- French:
- accordéon
- German:
- Akkordeon or Handharmonika
- Italian:
- armonica a manticino
- Key People:
- Boozoo Chavis
- Pauline Oliveros
- Clifton Chenier
- Lawrence Welk
accordion
-
What is an accordion?
The accordion is a portable, free-reed musical instrument with a treble casing that has piano-style keys or buttons, and a bass casing, typically with buttons, all connected to a hand-operated bellows.
Many believe C. Friedrich L. Buschmann, who got a patent for his HandÀoline in Berlin in 1822, invented the accordion. Others say it was Cyril Demian of Vienna, who patented his Accordion in 1829, and coined the name.
Inside the casings are free reeds, which are small metal tongues in rows next to pallets (valves) cut into metal frames. Airflow around a reed makes it vibrate. The wind goes to the reeds through pallets controlled by a keyboard or finger buttons. The European accordion was introduced in the second half of the 19th century and became a folk instrument in many Latin American and Caribbean genres.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do you play an accordion?
The accordion is a free-reed portable musical instrument with a treble casing (piano-style keys or buttons) and a bass casing (usually with buttons) on opposite sides of a hand-operated bellows.
To play, air flows around the reeds when you press or draw the bellows, which then vibrate above their frame. Wind enters the reeds through pallets controlled by a keyboard or finger buttons. Some accordions are single-action, where paired reeds sound notes of the diatonic scale, while double-action accordions have reeds tuned to the same note for each bellows direction. Couplers, or registers, on some double-action instruments can also activate extra sets of reeds.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are the main parts of an accordion?
The accordion is a free-reed portable musical instrument with a treble casing and a bass casing connected to a hand-operated bellows.
The main components include:
* Bellows This is operated by hand to push air across the reeds.
* Treble casing Contains piano-style keys or buttons.
* Bass casing Usually contains buttons.
* Free reeds Small metal tongues inside the casings that vibrate to produce sound when air flows over them.
* Pallets Valves that control airflow to the reeds, managed by a keyboard or buttons.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does an accordion make sound?
The accordion produces sound through free reeds inside its treble and bass casings. These small metal tongues vibrate when air flows around them. Airflow in one direction causes vibration, while the opposite direction does not.
Wind is selectively admitted to the reeds via pallets (valves) controlled by a keyboard or finger buttons. Each pallet allows wind to reach a pair of reeds; one reed sounds when the bellows is pressed, and the other sounds when drawn. Some accordions are "double-action," where both reeds are tuned to the same note, making each note available with either direction of bellows movement. Couplers, or registers, can activate extra sets of reeds to add octaves or create a tremulant effect.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What kinds of music are accordions used for?
The accordion is a free-reed portable musical instrument with piano-style keys or buttons on a treble casing and a bass casing with buttons, connected by hand-operated bellows.
Accordions are used in various musical genres, including concert and folk music. The bandonion, a variant of the accordion, is a leading solo instrument in Argentine tango orchestras. Accordions also feature prominently in Cajun and zydeco music from southwestern Louisiana. Cajun music blends French, Creole, and Celtic influences, while zydeco combines French, African American, and Afro-Caribbean styles.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do accordions differ in various countries or musical traditions?
The accordion is a free-reed portable musical instrument with piano-style keys or buttons on the treble casing and buttons on the bass casing, connected by a hand-operated bellows.
Accordion designs vary across countries and musical traditions:
- Austria and Switzerland Early single-action accordions were developed by adding a second row of treble buttons giving the F scale (the first-row scale being C). Various models add rows of buttons for playing semitones and additional bass notes and chords.
- Argentina The bandonion, related to the accordion, is a leading solo instrument in Argentine tango orchestras. It is a square-shaped instrument with finger buttons.
- Germany Heinrich Band of Krefeld, Germany, invented the bandonion in the mid-1840s.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
accordion, free-reed portable musical instrument, consisting of a treble casing with external piano-style keys or buttons and a bass casing (usually with buttons) attached to opposite sides of a hand-operated bellows.
The advent of the accordion is the subject of debate among researchers. Many credit C. Friedrich L. Buschmann, whose HandĂ€oline was patented in Berlin in 1822, as the inventor of the accordion, while others give the distinction to Cyril Demian of Vienna, who patented his Accordion in 1829, thus coining the name. A modification of the HandĂ€oline, Demianâs invention comprised a small manual bellows and five keys, although, as Demian noted in a description of the instrument, extra keys could be incorporated into the design. Numerous variations of the device soon followed.
Within the treble and bass casings of an accordion are the free reeds, small metal tongues arranged in rows alongside pallets (valves) that are cut into metal frames. When air flows around a reed from one side, it vibrates above its frame; airflow in the opposite direction does not cause vibration. Wind is admitted to the reeds selectively through pallets controlled by a keyboard or set of finger buttons. Each pallet admits wind to a pair of reeds, one of which is mounted to sound on the press of the bellows, the other, on the draw.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Some accordions, including the earliest ones, are âsingle-action,â in which the paired reeds sound adjacent notes of the diatonic (seven-note) scale, so that a button will give, for instance, G on the press and A on the draw. With a single-action accordion, 10 buttons suffice for a range of more than two octaves. For the left hand there are typically two keys, or basses, one providing a bass note, the other a major chord. The single action was early developed, chiefly in Austria and Switzerland, by adding a second row of treble buttons giving the F scale (the first-row scale being C). Various models add rows of buttons for the playing of semitones and additional bass notes and chords.
In âdouble-actionâ accordions, the two reeds of each pair are tuned to the same note, thus making each treble or bass note available from the same key or button with both directions of bellows movement. Among these instruments is the piano accordion, with a piano-style keyboard for the right hand. Its invention in the mid-19th century is credited either to the manufacturer Busson or to M. Bouton, both of France.
Couplers, or âregisters,â in some double-action instruments activate extra sets of reeds, one pitched an octave below the main set and another off-tuned from the main set to give a tremulant through âbeatingâ (sound-wave interference). Other registers may include a high-octave set of reeds and a second tremulant. Accordions often encompass ranges of seven or eight octaves.
The left-hand provision may also be extended, with more than 120 basses actuated by six or seven rows of buttons. Most of the rows in traditional âfixed-bass,â or Stradella, models give three-note chordsâmajor and minor triads and dominant and diminished seventhsâwhile âfree-bassâ accordions overcome melodic restrictions by providing extra buttons or a converter switch for bass melodies and counterpoint. Many accordions include up to five registers for the basses, allowing each bass note to sound over as many as five octaves and each chord to sound in three.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
Accordions are played as both concert and folk instruments. A variant of both the accordion and the concertina is the bandonion, a single- or double-action instrument with square shape and finger buttons, invented by Heinrich Band of Krefeld, Germany, in the mid-1840s. Along with the piano accordion, it is a leading solo instrument in Argentine tango orchestras. For precursors of the free-reed instruments, see sheng; for other types, see concertina; harmonica; harmonium.